To help you go deeper in your exploration of materials science, we've collected a wide range of resources, both online and off.

Jump to: Web sites / Books for Teachers / Books for Students / Books for Kids and Parents / Videos

Web sites
Ready to explore materials science further online? These selected Web links will get you started. However, we can't guarantee all their content is up to date and accurate, so please let us know if you discover a problem.

ZOOM IN AND ZOOM OUT / POWERS OF 10
Start 10 million light years away from the Earth and zoom in through successive orders of magnitude until you reach the subatomic universe inside a single oak leaf - an amazing trip!

MACROGALLERIA
Billing itself "a cyberwonderland of polymer fun", this site offers information on where how and where polymers are used, how they are made, and how materials scientists study them.

MICROSCAPE VIRTUAL LABORATORY
Take an extremely close-up look online at stuff from around your house, like a penny or the tip of a ball point pen.

MICROWORLDS: EXPLORING THE STRUCTURE OF MATERIALS
A Web site for high-school students that includes biographies of materials scientists, profiles of kids interested in materials science, and close-up examinations of materials such as Kevlar.

AMERICAN PLASTICS COUNCIL
This Web site about plastics and polymers features a "virtual plastics classroom" for teachers and links to the latest plastics news.

HANDS ON PLASTICS
Created for middle-school teachers by the American Plastics Council, this site's suitable for anyone wanting a quick run-down on the history of plastics and polymers, the various kinds of plastics, and how plastics can be recycled. There are science experiments and online simulations, as well as a free kit teachers can order.

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Books for Teachers

AMATO, Ivan. Stuff: The Materials the World is Made of. New York: Avon Books, 1997.

BALL, Philip. Designing the Molecular World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994.

BALL, Philip. Made to Measure: New Materials for the 21st Century. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1997.

BALL, Philip. Stories of the Invisible: A Guided Tour of the Molecules. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2001.

CAHN, Robert W. The Coming of Materials. New York: Pergamon Press, 2001.

DELMONTE, John. Origins of Materials and Processes. Lancaster, Eng.: Technomic, 1985.

ELLIS, Arthur B. et al. Teaching General Chemistry: A Materials Science Companion. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, 1993.

FORESTER, Tom. The Materials Revolution. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1988.

GORDON, James Edward. The New Science of Strong Materials or Why You Don't Fall Through the Floor. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.

HUMMEL, Rolf E. Understanding Materials Science: History, Properties, Applications. New York: Springer Verlag, 1998.

PERKOWITZ, Sidney. Universal Foam: From cappuccino to the cosmos. New York, NY: Walker, 2002.

SASS, Stephen L. The Substance of Civilization: Materials and Human History from the Stone Age to the Age of Silicon. New York: Arcade, 1998.

Materials: a Scientific American Book. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman, 1967.

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Books for Students

BRYANT-MOLE, Karen. Materials (Images). Parsippany, NJ: Silver Press, 1997.

COOPER, Christopher. Matter. Eyewitness series. London, Eng.: Dorling Kindersley, 1992.

GORDON, Maria and GORDON, Mike. Fun with Materials. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1996.

JACKMAN, Wayne. Plastics. East Sussex, Eng.: Wayland, 1991.

LAMBERT, Mark. Focus on Plastics. East Sussex, Eng.: Wayland, 1987.

PEACOCK, Graham. Materials. East Sussex, Eng.: Wayland, 1994.

PEACOCK, Graham. The Super Science Book of Materials. East Sussex, Eng.: Wayland, 1993.

TAYLOR, Peter. Materials. Starting Design & Technology series. London, Eng.: Cassell, 1990.

WEISS, Malcolm E. Why Glass Breaks, Rubber Bends, and Glue Sticks. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977.

WHYMAN, Kathryn. Plastics. New York: Gloucester Press, 1988.

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Books for Kids and Parents

BRYANT-MOLE, Karen. Materials (Images). Parsippany, NJ: Silver Press, 1997.

COOPER, Christopher. Matter. Eyewitness series. London, Eng.: Dorling Kindersley, 1992.
An informative, colorful, book with lots of stuff about materials.

GLOVER, David. What is it made of? London, Eng.: Dorling Kindersley, 2001.
Can you make a bridge out of spaghetti? Intriguing questions (and answers) about materials, as well as experiments for testing materials and changing materials.

GOLD, Carol. Science Express: an Ontario Science Centre Book of Experiments. Toronto: Kids Can Press, 1991.

GORDON, Maria and GORDON, Mike. Fun with Materials. Austin, TX: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1996.

HENCH, Larry L. Boing Boing the Bionic Cat. Westerville, Ohio: American Ceramic Society, 2000.
A charming story about a young boy who is so allergic to cats that his inventive neighbor builds him a bionic cat out of cool materials.

HENCH, Larry L. Boing Boing the Bionic Cat and the Jewel Thief. Westerville, Ohio: American Ceramic Society, 2001.
More adventures with Boing Boing.

MURPHY, Pat, et al. The Science Explorer: an Exploratorium Science-at-Home Book. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1996.

SEUSS, Dr. Bartholomew and the Oobleck. New York: Random House, 1949.
The Dr. Seuss classic about a strange new material with interesting properties that starts raining down from the sky. Compare the King's oobleck to the Crazy Goo you can make at home.

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Videos

Flubber, An absent-minded scientist invents a unique polymer that saves his school from financial disaster. Starring Robin Williams (1997). Also check out the original Flubber movies with Fred MacMurray, The Absent-minded Professor made in 1961 and Son of Flubber in 1963!

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